iron bacteria

Microorganisms which are capable of utilizing ferrous iron, either from the water or from steel pipe, in their metabolism, and precipitating ferric hydroxide in the sheaths and gelatinous deposits. These organisms tend to collect in pipe lines and tanks during periods of low flow, and to break loose in slugs of turbid water to create staining, taste and odor problems. (See Crenothrix polyspora, Gallionella ferruginea.)